For many years splicing of telephone cables has been a job requiring accuracy and the patience of a skilled technician. Particularly if the splice of the connected cables is to be buried, special precautions need to be taken to make sure that the many electrical connections made within the splice are protected from moisture, dirt and atmosphere which might attack and destroy one or more of the connections. Any such failure can cause problems requiring unearthing the splice, repairing interrupted connections and redoing the splice protection.
In order to minimize problems, prepared splice enclosures have been developed having disk-like end walls which preferably are made of rubber and have holes into which the cables are fit, usually through lateral self-closing slits. Once the splice is completed, it is carefully wrapped and placed within an enclosure extending to and wrapped around the end walls through which the cables pass. Various materials are used to impregnate the splice by pouring insulating fluid or semi-fluid material intended to keep the splice covered and exclude water from the splice enclosure and keep its various connections dry. The splice may be further wrapped if desired, particularly if it is buried. Even though such a splice is done very well by highly skilled people, its life expectancy is very short, and replacement is commonly required within a year or two years.